Lady Hurricane
by Anna Nigma
Summary: Konoha is about to be hit by the Nami tsunami. No one is prepared. FemNaru.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own it.**

**A/N: My first Naruto fic! Despite the fact that this is a Fem!Naru fic it's not going to be overly shippy. Friendshippy, yes but as most of the main characters are twelve there won't be anything serious.**

_Children make you a better everything. Daughters open up a whole different sensibility to you. When you have children, it focuses you on them as opposed to on yourself._

_**~Andy Garcia**_

**Prologue: In which everyone in Konoha has a very bad day. (Especially a fox, a Hokage, and a very little girl named . . . Well, no one's quite sure **_**what**_** her name is but that really is the least of her problems) **

Namikaze Minato was having a very bad day. Not only was he coping with the stress of being a new father but his paperwork was piling up, he hadn't slept in nearly forty-eight hours, and his wife was dead. Plus there was the whole issue of the giant demon fox attacking his village. The past few days at the office had been stressful, indeed.

The sounds of the battle going on just outside the village were muffled by his office's walls and for that he was thankful. His people were dying by the hundreds, fighting for their lives and he couldn't afford any distractions as he worked to find a way to save them. He'd barely had time to glance at his new daughter before he'd been forced to return to his desk. However, he knew that if he didn't do something soon he would never get to see her at all. Konoha would be destroyed and he would die before he let that happen. Things did not look good. In fact, if they weren't all busy on the battlefield he would have sent one of his aides to take a quick picture of her, just in case.

He tugged at his hair causing the sunny yellow spikes to stick up even more than usual. He was tired, grieving, and frustrated. He couldn't remember when he'd last eaten or the last time he changed his clothes. He probably looked like shit.

"You look like shit, kid."

Minato's head snapped up at the sound of the familiar voice and he felt an instinctual surge of relief before his brain processed what the other man had said.

"You think I look bad sensei? You should see the people coming away from the battle. They look a hell of a lot worse than I do," he snapped, angry with the older man for his casual attitude.

"I know," Jiraiya said, pushing himself away from the wall he'd been leaning against and moving towards his former student. "I've already been down there. They're dragging them back to the hospital in pieces. I helped for a bit before I came to bring you this."

Jiraiya slapped a slightly blurry Polaroid down onto his student's cluttered desk causing the younger man to glance up from his work for a moment before dismissing him.

"Pictures of naked women aren't going to help me now sensei," he looked back down at the complex seal array he was working on without glancing at the picture. His former sensei was a good man and an even better shinobi but his perpetually laid back attitude meant that his concept of what was and was not appropriate during a time of crisis was, well, skewed.

"Stupid, ungrateful brat! You didn't even look at it. How do you know it doesn't contain the answer to all our problems? " Jiraiya sounded smug.

"Does it?" he asked, voice flat and tired. It didn't and he knew that but he still had to ask because anything, absolutely anything no matter how crazy or far-fetched, would be better than what he had in mind.

"Well," Jiraiya faltered, "No. No it doesn't. Still a great picture though. You really should take at least a glance. No matter how busy you are I can guarantee that you'll want to see this. She's a very pretty girl if bit younger than I usually like 'em."

Minato looked up at the Sannin's pleased expression then took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Killing the older man would be a waste of his time and energy at a time when he didn't have any of either to spare. He set down the ink brush he was holding, picked up the picture, and felt all the air leave his chest as he found himself staring straight into the wide open blue eyes of his brand new baby daughter.

A bitter, choking laugh clawed its way out of his throat. _How do you know it doesn't contain the answer to all our problems? _He was holding the picture so tightly that it was starting to tear.

"What the hell is the matter with you?" His sensei looked unnerved. That reaction obviously hadn't been the one he was expecting.

"Irony is a bitch. I hate it. I really, really do." He couldn't remember the last time he'd felt this bitter and angry at life. Probably when Obito died. It just wasn't fair. Not to him, not his little girl, not to anyone.

"Brat," Jiraiya said and Minato was pleased in twisted sort of way to see that the older man was beginning to look seriously uneasy at his student's uncharacteristic venom, "If you don't tell me what the _hell_ is going on right now I will beat it out of you Hokage or not."

"You said it yourself Sensei," Minato picked up the picture and gave it an ironic flourish, "The answer to all our problems right here in one little picture, one little girl."

Jiraiya didn't respond. He simply stood on the other side of the desk waiting for his former student to continue.

"It's impossible to kill a bijuu," he said voice low and weary. He could feel the bitter anger draining out of him leaving only despairing resignation in its wake. "With the lesser tailed beasts this doesn't pose much of a problem, they can be sealed away in an object. However, the more powerful the bijuu is the more difficult it is to seal. In fact it's impossible to seal the higher-level demons inside inanimate objects. Because this is the Kyuubi an animal would not be strong enough to contain it would escape from its prison immediately if it even got there in the first place."

Minato could feel Jiraiya's impassive gaze become first disbelieving and then horrified in quick succession as the full meaning of what his student was saying finally hit him.

"Kid, you don't mean that you intend to seal that thing inside a _person –"_

"That's exactly what I mean to do."

"No," Jiraiya said, voice firm, "We'll think of something else. There's still time. With the two of us working we'll be able to –"

"To what, sensei?" Minato asked, voice hard, "Find another way? A way that will make everyone happy? There's no time for that. The monster is at the gates! The point where a happy ending was possible has passed! This is already a tragedy. A little more misery will hardly be noticeable."

Minato took a deep breath and exhaled sharply. He needed to calm down. If he got too worked up, if he thought too hard about what he had to do then he would never be able to do it. In an attempt to rid himself of at least a little of the tension running through his veins he pushed himself away from his desk and crossed the room to the window. Unfortunately the view brought no relief. The towering form of the Kyuubi was visible in the distance and was getting closer every second. His fingers griped the windowsill hard enough to crack the plaster as he watched another barrage of jutsu bounce harmlessly of the beast. Unable to watch any longer he spun away from the scene violently only to be met with the heavy weight of his old teacher's gaze.

"Trying to seal the creature into an adult would be useless. Their chakra coils wouldn't be able to handle it. They would die before the sealing could take and we'd be right back to where we started," Jiraiya's voice was as cold and serious as he'd ever heard it. He didn't respond, letting the silence stretch between them, tense and razor sharp.

"You intend to seal it into a child."

It was not a question but Minato answered anyway, meeting the other man's gaze calmly, his chin raised high and posture rigid.

"Yes."

Minato tried to prepare himself for the question that would inevitably follow. Yet when it came it still pierced his chest like a katana.

"Your child."

For a few moments the only sounds in the room were those of the battle drawing ever nearer as the two men stared at each other. If Minato clenched his fist any tighter he was going to draw blood and he could tell that Jiraiya was in much the same predicament. The Sannin's eyes had gone almost impossibly cold and hard. Minato sucked in a gulp of air and answered as firmly as he could.

"Yes."

Jiraiya made no response, simply stood there with his sharp, accusing eyes until Minato could bear it no longer and turned away. He walked back to his desk and gathered a small stack of papers, fighting desperately to regain his equilibrium. He felt Jiraiya's presence begin to move towards him and held up a hand signaling the other man to stop. His eyes did not move from the seal that rested on the top of a bundle of papers.

"I have already discussed everything with Sarutobi-sama. This will happen. Your approval is neither necessary nor requested. There is nothing left to say. Please leave," he made his voice as cold and empty as he could manage. The sealing needed to begin soon or it would be too late.

He closed his eyes in relief when he felt the older man begin moving towards the exit in silence. The door creaked open and then Jiraiya paused to give one final parting shot before leaving the office as quietly as he'd entered.

"Kushina will _never _forgive you."

That was fine.

He'd never forgive himself.

**Lady Hurricane**

The Sandaime Hokage stared down at the small, warm bundle currently trying to squirm its way out of his arms. Despite the hardships that had plagued the early hours of her life the Kyuubi jinchuuriki was a happy, active baby who was perfectly content to watch the world go by with her big, curious blue eyes. Unfortunately, the world, or at least Konoha, hadn't adopted a similarly accepting attitude towards her. In the two weeks since her birth there had been no less than seventeen attempts made on her life. He'd been forced to assign several ANBU to her on an around the clock security detail and with the village still trying to recover from the beast's attack that was a drain on resources that he wouldn't be able to afford for long.

He sighed, exhausted. The last two weeks had been one long stretch of no sleep and disappointment. He didn't think he'd ever been so angry with the people of Konoha. Aggravated? Certainly. Frustrated? Constantly. But he'd never been enraged, never been truly furious until now. It was horrifying to see normally sensible, good-hearted people turned bloodthirsty and vengeful by prejudice. The council had even gone so far as to demand the child's execution.

That, of course, was absolutely _not_ an option. Unfortunately that left him with very few courses of action to choose from. Originally he'd hoped that the storm surrounding her unusual circumstances would die down and she could be raised within the village like any other orphan. However as the weeks passed that option was looking less and less appealing simply because the storm _wasn't_ dying down. At all. Allowing her to grow up in an environment of such constant hatred and resentment would be unhealthy at best and irreparably damaging at worst. As much as he hated the idea it seemed that the only option was to have her raised outside the village.

He stroked the little girl's soft cheek and smiled tiredly as she burbled, happy and incoherent at him. Truthfully he was loath to give her up. Not only because it seemed far too much like exile but because he would miss the little thing. She was so sunny and joyful, so much like her mother that having her in his office had been no hardship.

However, the relocation would be for the child's own good. He had spent days agonizing over a suitable guardian to entrust with the girl's care before he had finally made a decision. He only hoped that Jiraiya would be able to find her quickly and that once he did he'd be able to convince her to return to the village she hated to speak with her former teacher. To say nothing of course of the struggle it would be to get her to take on the task when and if she did get here.

He held the baby out at arms length and studied her as she squealed and made a valiant attempt to grab his hat.

"How can someone so tiny cause so much trouble?" His voice sounded wry and more than a bit dismayed even to his own ears.

"It's in her blood. Just look at her parents, Kushina especially. She was a tiny lady but she could wreak havoc like nobody's business."

Only long years of practice kept the Hokage from startling at the voice of his student. Jiraiya had always been a sneaky kid and the talent had only become more pronounced as he aged. Still, the Sandaime thought with a frown, the fact that _anyone_ had gotten the drop on him while he was at work was troubling. It meant that his guard had been lowered to an inexcusable degree. He really was getting too old for this job. He shook off his melancholy thoughts quickly enough, however, and turned to face the younger man lounging against his office door.

"Jiraiya," he said his voice dry but still pleasant, "I take it you've found her. Has she agreed to meet with me?"

"Nice to see you too, sensei." Jiraiya's said in as wounded a tone as he could manage, "How's my cute little goddaughter? She at least looks happy to see me."

The Sandaime sighed and handed the little girl over to the other man, waiting patiently as he cooed at her.

Eventually Jiraiya heaved a heavy sigh and forced his attention away from the child with an obvious effort. Sarutobi hid a smile. That little girl had two of the most powerful ninja in the world wrapped around her tiny fingers. She'd be a force to be reckoned with someday.

"She's agreed to meet with you tonight but she refuses to come into the village. There's a small town about three miles away where she and Shizune have set up camp for the night." Jiraiya paused looking rather sadder than was usual. "She– she isn't doing very well. I don't know if she's going to be able to take proper care of the baby in her state even if she does agree to take her in."

Sarutobi sighed. "Be that as it may she's our best option right now. It's obvious that the child cannot remain in the village and therefore I cannot take her in. As her godfather you'd be my next choice but I'm going to need you in the field and that's no place for a baby. As her godmother and last living relative Tsunade really is the only one left who can keep her safe and teach her what she needs to know."

Jiraiya nodded grimly but still didn't look entirely pleased with the solution. Both men stared down at the baby cradled in his arms.

"I just hope that's enough to convince _her_ to do it."

**Lady Hurricane**

Tsunade was not having a good day. She was broke, hung over, and far too close to the village she'd sworn to never set foot in again. When Jiraiya had suddenly shown up at the inn she was staying in two weeks ago her first instinct had been to throw him out and then leave town. But before she could make that first move, before she could slam the door, she had caught sight of his face.

Jiraiya had looked old.

It didn't take her long to understand why. His student was dead, Konoha was barely standing, and his goddaughter had been made into a living sacrifice for a village incapable of gratitude. It was a horrible situation but at first she couldn't see what it had to do with her.

Then of course Jiraiya had dropped the bomb. The baby was not just the daughter of the Yondaime. She was Kushina's as well. The two had apparently gotten married secretly several years before.

"They would have sent you an invitation," Jiraiya had said snidely, "But as you didn't see fit to leave directions when you ran off it would have been a waste of time."

Tsunade remembered the younger woman well. She had been such a vibrant person, always laughing and smiling and talking. The news that she was dead because of something as stupid as a lack of available medical personnel was galling. Her memory was the only reason Tsunade had agreed to return to her former home.

However, when the time had come she simply couldn't bring herself too set foot inside those gates. It was hard enough being as close as she was. She felt every one of her nearly fifty years.

Now she was sitting in the bar of some hole-in-the-wall crap-shack waiting for her former sensei to arrive with the child in question. Whether or not she would actually take the kid in would depend on what the old man was willing to offer her in return.

She forced back a groan as she felt Shizune fidget excitedly next to her. She'd offered her apprentice the night off but the girl had been eager to meet the baby and more than a little afraid to face the teammates she had left without either explanations or goodbyes.

They sat in silence for a few more moments before she heard the door of the inn creak open and felt two large chakra sources enter. She didn't react, simply continued sipping lazily at her sake. Shizune on the other hand leapt out of her seat and greeted the two new comers in an excited whisper. Tsunade supposed that they were lucky she hadn't shouted from sheer exuberance instead and so didn't scold her for her childish behavior.

Tsunade sighed heavily and pushed her drink away from her as she felt her former teacher and teammate settle down on the barstools to either side of her.

"Hello Tsunade." The voice coming from her left was old and tired but just as commanding as she remembered from her childhood. "It's been a long time since I last saw your face although time seems to have treated you very kindly indeed. What is your secret?"

"Uh-uh sensei. Weren't you the one who told me that good ninja never reveals their secrets? Or have you grown so senile that you've forgotten?"

Sarutobi laughed. "As sharp tongued as ever. It's good to see that you haven't changed too much in all these years."

Tsunade smirked almost fondly and turned to greet him, ignoring Jiraiya as had been her habit since childhood. Her former teacher looked as old as he sounded. Age and stress had exacted a large toll from the man, but his eyes were still sharp and his back was still straight and she had no doubt that he could still pound her into the ground during a spar, especially considering how much she had let herself slip in recent years.

"Oi, hime! What's with ignoring your old teammate? And you say _I _have bad manners!"

Tsunade whipped around in her seat and was prepared to give the white-haired idiot his customary whack on the head when she caught sight of the tiny baby cradled in his arms. She was cute, although considering whose child she was that wasn't terribly surprising. Tsunade's expression softened. She could already tell that the girl would be almost the image of Kushina, though it was already apparent that she would have her father's coloring.

She reached down and easily plucked the girl from Jiraiya's arms, holding her protectively to her chest. She turned around once more so she was facing the Sandaime.

"You let that idiot hold the baby? Maybe you really are going crazy sensei." Although her words were customarily harsh her voice lacked venom.

"I assure you," he answered wryly, "I watched him like a hawk the entire way. I was half afraid he would run off and use her as a prop for picking up women."

Tsunade ignored the indignant protests coming from her right and examined the little girl more closely. While it wasn't obvious from far away she had several distinctive characteristics that marked her as a demon container. Her ears were slightly pointed and her pupils were rather more elongated than was usual. Thankfully neither should cause her developmental problems as she grew.

Tsunade carefully unwrapped the blankets surrounding the girl and unsnapped her tiny pink pajamas, sending tendrils of chakra into the baby's system to check for anomalies below the surface. The joints were all normal and while the muscles and reflexes were more developed than was usual for a baby her age that was no cause for concern considering what clan her mother belonged to. The seal on her stomach didn't seem to be having any negative effects on her chakra coils, which, due both to her heritage and her unusual circumstances, were already highly developed.

Tsunade suppressed a sigh when she looked up to find both Jiraiya and the Sandaime watching her quietly. "She's perfectly healthy. The seal isn't doing her any harm and there are no other problems that I can sense."

There was a brief, terribly uncomfortable silence before, "What's her name?"

Two of the three legendry ninja barely repressed the urge to flinch. Tsunade, long used to her apprentice's ability to make people forget she was there, just smirked.

Jiraiya cleared his throat. "We don't exactly know." He seemed ready to stop there but at Shizune's horrified look he scrambled to explain. "Ah, well you see, it's a funny story actually–"

"She doesn't have a name? What was her father thinking not even giving her a name before sealing that thing in her?"

Thankfully before Shizune could really warm up to her rant the Sandaime managed to interrupt. "On the contrary, she has two names. Apparently her parents couldn't agree on what to call her so they both filled out a birth certificate without telling the other."

Tsunade let out an appreciative bark of laughter. That did sound like Kushina and from what she understood Jiraiya's student had been an orphan as well. It was only natural that both would want their daughter to carry on their respective family names.

The third waited for her to calm down for a moment before continuing, "To protect her from her father's political enemies we have decided to seal the one he filled out away until she is able to protect herself. Her other name, Uzumaki Tsunami, will be a matter of public record."

"Will you tell her who she is? I understand that it's necessary to protect her, but to do so at the expense of her heritage . . ." Shizune's voice trailed off.

"When she is old enough to understand she will be told everything. Until then it will remain an S-class secret as will the prisoner she holds."

Silence descended on the group once more.

"Tsunade, you know what I'm asking you. There is no other choice for this child. You are all she has left."

Tsunade didn't answer immediately. She would take the baby in, of course. Now that she'd seen her she knew it would be impossible for her to leave any child of Kushina's to the life of isolation and hatred that awaited her in Konoha.

When she spoke her voice was soft but firm. "If I agree to do this I will do it my way. She will be told the truth about the burden she carries from the beginning. I won't have it hidden away as if it were something shameful or disgusting."

"If you think that that is best then I will not interfere. All I ask is that she return to Konoha once a year to visit and that, should she want to, you'll allow her to return to become a ninja when she 's ready."

Tsunade nodded sharply and held the baby closer. The two men stayed for a little while longer, saying goodbye to the child and making arrangements to have her things delivered in the morning. The girl seemed to come to life after the somber mood that hung over most of the meeting lifted and was currently waving and cooing at an enthralled Shizune.

_Uzumaki Tsunami eh? _Tsunade thought to herself as she watched her two charges interact. Shizune gave an indignant squawk and Tsunade had to smile as her apprentice attempted to disentangle the infant's hands from her hair. She was a strong one.

They'd be fine.

**A/N: Okay so first chapter down. I'll try to ensure that this will be updated on a fairly regular basis but sometimes life has to come before fanfiction. I'm also looking for an experienced beta who will not only fix grammar but will poke me when I'm dragging my feet in getting a new chapter done.**

**As always reviews, especially ones containing constructive criticism, are both appreciated and adored. : ) **


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: If I owned any ninja I'd be too busy taking over the world to write fanfiction.**

**A/N: Well, here's chapter two. Hope ya'll enjoy it. **

_People are taken aback by a confident, pretty girl who knows what she wants in life and isn't going to let anyone get in her way. And you know what it's all about? Jealousy._

_**~Summer Altice**_

**Chapter two: In which Uzumaki Tsunami returns to Konoha, enrolls in the Academy, and proceeds to cause chaos. **

Umino Iruka was not having a good day. Somehow his class had caught wind of the news that there was going be a new addition to the class and that said new addition was going to be arriving sometime today. Rumors had been flying all morning and despite his best efforts to stifle them they seemed destined to continue on into the afternoon.

If he actually knew anything about the kid he would have told them by now, if only to get them refocused on what they were supposed to be learning. However, much to his annoyance Iruka was just as clueless as his students in this case. All he knew was that the new addition was the grandchild of one of the Sandaime's friends and was rumored to be extremely talented. As if his class had room for another inflated ego.

He took a deep breath and pushed his annoyance down. It wasn't like whoever it was would be his problem for too long. There were only two months left before the graduation exams anyway and then he'd be able to pawn the child off onto some unlucky jounin. Although if some of the students currently chattering excitedly didn't actually start reviewing, starting with what he'd given them today, then there was a good chance he'd be seeing them again next year.

There were a few that would pass for sure. Uchiha Sasuke and Hyuuga Hinata were shoo-ins for promotion. The Aburame would probably pass and so would Yamanaka Ino, Akimichi Chouji, and Nara Shikamaru. With Kiba the written portion was a bit iffy but he had all the physical skills he needed. Haruno Sakura was the exact opposite. Iruka cared for all of his students and disliked thinking the worst of anyone but Sakura was a desk ninja if her ever saw one. If she passed she'd more than likely end up pushing papers at the missions office for the rest of her career. The rest had about a fifty-fifty chance of passing or failing and an even lower chance of ever moving beyond genin.

He stood up, shaking off his contemplative mood and gearing up to yell at his class to get back to work when there was a knock at the door. The children instantly fell silent and the air of anticipation that had filled the room all day sharpened and focused to an almost unbearable level. Iruka felt a twinge of sympathy for the child about to walk in. He hoped they weren't shy.

He called out, giving whoever waited outside the door permission to enter but instead of one of his fellow chunin the face that appeared in the doorway was that of the Hokage.

"Ah, Iruka," the old man said. "We saw Mizuki on our way in, he seemed to be in a hurry to get somewhere so you won't mind if I just introduce your new student myself will you?"

It was phrased like a question but Iruka barely had time to stutter out an affirmative answer before the Hokage motioned to someone down the hall and sailed into the room.

The girl who followed him in was a tiny, blonde doll with flashing blue eyes. She moved like an experienced ninja and walked like she owned the whole building. It was obvious that he needn't have worried about shyness with this one. She sauntered to the center of the room to stand in front to the Hokage who put his hand on her shoulder.

"Children, this is–"

"NAMI-CHAN!"

At first Iruka didn't recognize the voice that had so rudely interrupted the Sandaime. When he turned around to locate the source of the disturbance he realized why.

Hyuuga Hinata, quite possibly the gentlest, quietest child he had ever met and who, in her five years at the Academy, had never once raised her voice was now turning bright red and had her hands covering her mouth as if she could force the words she'd just shouted back into it.

"You didn't tell her you were coming?" the Hokage said sounding both amused and exasperated.

The girl, apparently named Nami, shrugged her eyes shining with an amount of mischief that made Iruka distinctly uncomfortable. "I wanted it to be a surprise. Hi Hinata-chan." She waved cheerfully at the red-faced girl who seemed to be trying to sink into the floor without using a jutsu. At the other girl's words she sank even lower in her seat but managed a wave.

"I think it's safe to say that you succeeded dear, but I have to ask. Are there any other surprises planned for the day or can I tell the ANBU to stand down? You now how nervous surprises make them."

"Ji-chan," the girl said disapprovingly even going so far as to waggle her finger at him in a mock-chiding manner. "If I told you that they wouldn't be surprises anymore."

"Very true."

While Iruka tried to wrap his mind around the fact that the girl had called the Hokage _ji-chan, _of all things and had then had the audacity to actually shake her finger at him the Hokage seemed to realize that he hadn't finished his introduction. He turned his attention back to the now rather stunned class and continued.

"As I was saying," he stated, calmly ignoring Hinata's near silent whimper of embarrassment. "This is Uzumaki Tsunami, your new classmate and the granddaughter of a very dear friend of mine. Please make her feel welcome."

The class, especially the boys, responded enthusiastically, prompting Uzumaki Tsunami to wink back at them in a decidedly flirty manner. Iruka's well-honed teacher's instincts were sending off danger signals left and right. As if there was room for another fanclub in his class. One was bad enough thankyouverymuch. Aside from that, he got the feeling that there was some reason that her name was very important if only he could remember what it was.

The Hokage waited for the greetings to die down. "Now, I have work to do so I'll leave things to you Iruka," He turned to the girl standing beside him and adopted a stern expression although it was obvious to Iruka that he was trying not to smile. "Nami-chan, be nice to your new classmates. I don't want to hear about you causing trouble on your first day. No property damage. No swearing. No pranks, even if they deserved it. And for God's sake _listen_ to your teachers."

"Hai, hai." She waved off his concerns and began pushing him in the direction of the door. "Ji-chan worries too much. It's why you've got so many wrinkles."

The Hokage simply chuckled and dropped an affectionate kiss on her forehead before reminding her to behave herself once more and disappearing out the door.

Uzumaki Tsunami, _where had he heard that before,_ turned away from the door and focused her sharp blue eyes on Iruka. He reeled for a moment, still disoriented by the events of the last few minutes before giving a laugh that only sounded mildly forced. "Ah, Uzumaki-san–"

"Call me Nami, sensei. Everyone else does." The girls voice was cheerful and she seemed to be perfectly at ease. Iruka relaxed fractionally. Maybe she wouldn't be the headache he'd thought she would. She certainly seemed good-natured enough.

"Nami then. Why don't you tell the class a little bit about yourself before I release you for lunch. We'll see where you are in practical skills this afternoon."

"Okay sensei." She turned back to face the class. "My name is Uzumaki Tsunami but everyone here can call me Nami, at least for now. I was raised outside the village because my grandmother likes to travel so I've never stayed in one place for long. I like music and training and poetry. My favorite food is pocky and my favorite color is orange. I'm a heavy-combat specialist with a focus on ninjutsu and taijutsu, though I have a solid understanding of medical jutsu as well."

Iruka nodded when she finished and dismissed the class for lunch reminding them to be back on time or be ready to face detention. As usual most of the students ignored him and he prepared himself for the task of hunting down a few of the troublemakers when they inevitably didn't show back up for class.

It took him fifteen minutes to remember _exactly_ what was so familiar about his new student's name.

When he did he calmly put down the papers he was grading, stood up, . . .

And went running for the Hokage's office.

**Lady Hurricane**

Inuzuka Kiba watched enthralled as Hinata-chan and the new girl sat down on the playground almost scandalously close together. The combination of Hinata's lingering blush and the blonde's wicked expression made the scene look far naughtier than it probably was. For a day that had started off colossally boring things were certainly looking up now.

"Mou, Nami-chan," Hinata said reproachfully. "You should have told me you were coming. Surprising me like that was too mean."

"But it was a good surprise, ne?" Nami chirped, throwing her arms around her friend and nuzzling her nose against the other girls face. "Hinata-chan is happy to see me so it wasn't _really _mean."

Hinata sighed and nodded. "At least you didn't blow anything up this time."

Nami made a wounded noise and drew back as if she'd been struck. Kiba grinned. Any girl who blew things up enough to warrant that sort of comment was alright in his book.

"One garden shed. One. When we were seven."

Hinata responded to the Nami's wounded tone and overdramatic posturing with a flat stare and disbelieving silence. Nami returned her look for a few moments before huffing indignantly. "Fine. Two garden sheds."

Hinata didn't say anything.

"Alright already! _Four _garden sheds."

Silence.

"And that one bathhouse! But those were just buildings! It's not like I went around blowing up unsuspecting civilians or something."

Kiba could practically hear crickets chirping that's how quiet Hinata was.

"His eyebrows grew back after three months so that totally doesn't even count! And anyway if you keep looking like that any longer your face will freeze that way. What do you think happened to Neji? `Sides, I'm hungry and as retribution for being mean to me it's automatically your turn to pay." Nami launched herself off the bench where the two were seated and stared expectantly at her friend, arms crossed and nose in the air. She looked about five seconds away from tapping her foot in a particularly bratty manner.

Hinata just laughed softly and stood up. "It was my turn anyway. For retribution I'll let you choose where to go."

"Really?" Nami's belligerent attitude vanished as quickly as it had appeared and she flung her arms around her friend once more. "Then I want ramen, okay Hinata-chan?"

Kiba watched as Nami dragged the other girl off still chatting loudly about where they were going to eat. He'd never seen Hinata react to someone like that. Normally she was really shy and withdrawn. He'd been trying to have a conversation with her for years but the most he ever got was a few stuttering sentences before she managed to escape. It was more than anyone else ever got but it was still pretty discouraging to see her suddenly being so free with someone else. They had to be really close.

He spent the rest of the lunch period in thought, an unusual occupation for him. He was definitely more of an action guy. Hinata liked active people right? She definitely wasn't one of those worthless, brain-dead girls who wasted their time hovering around that Uchiha jerk, mooning over his every obnoxious glare. Kiba turned around to send the aforementioned jerk an obnoxious glare of his own just in time to see Hinata and Nami returning from lunch.

Normally his eyes would go immediately to Hinata but today they were caught on a truly horrible sight: Uzumaki Tsunami, eyes wide and sparkling, staring straight at Uchiha. Compared to the mischievous, confident girl from earlier she looked completely lobotomized and Kiba couldn't help but feel a little regretful. She had seemed cool earlier, like a serious ninja, someone he wouldn't mind working with. But it seemed like she was just as lame and shallow as the rest of the girls in class besides Hinata.

He was fully prepared to write her off as a useless fangirl when she rocketed right past the Uchiha and came to a sudden stop . . .

Right in front of him.

"What a cute puppy!"

For a moment Kiba stood frozen in shock. By the time he managed to regain the majority of his senses the tiny blonde had somehow managed to remove Akamaru from his perch on Kiba's head and was happily snuggling him to her chest. His first thought was that ninety percent of the guys in their class would sell their organs to be in his dog's position. His second though was that she had to be the fastest kid he'd ever met because he'd barely even seen her move.

"What's his name?" Nami's eyes were very, very blue and were making it very, very hard for him to think properly.

"Guh," he answered.

"That," Nami said looking bemused. "Is a really weird name."

Kiba shook himself like a wet dog. "It's Akamaru! Hi-his name is Akamaru."

"Well, that's definitely better than Guh." She was looking at Akamaru again and Kiba used the momentary reprieve to collect himself.

When he felt ready to act like a functioning human being he spoke again. "My name's Inuzuka Kiba."

"It's nice to meet you." She grinned cheerfully and then turned around and waved. "Hinata-chan! Come see the puppy, he's super cute, ne?"

Hinata nodded shyly and made her way over to them, her tiny feet tapping against the ground almost soundlessly. "H-hai Akamaru is really c-cute, demo Nami-chan it's almost t–time for class to start again so we sh-should probably head b-back inside."

"Ah, Hinata is always so cute and sensible. Lucky me having such a good best friend." Nami's voice was sing-song and teasing as she danced into the school building still cuddling Akamaru.

Hinata sighed but she was smiling so Kiba figured she was more amused than annoyed and he felt free to snicker at the other girl's antics as they followed her. The walk back to the classroom was silent and ended quickly. Kiba got the impression that Nami was a girl who didn't waste time.

They had just settled into their seats, Kiba in the back row as usual with Nami and Hinata-chan right in front of him. Upon reaching the classroom Nami had struck up a conversation about the merits of nin-animals versus summons, a topic she was shockingly, and pleasantly, knowledgeable about. Apparently both her grandmother and her godfather had summoning contracts and she had spent a fair amount of time growing up speaking to their various summons. It was just getting interesting when the rest of the class started filing back in. Iruka–sensei appeared shortly after and wasted no time putting the class back in order.

Kiba watched his teacher closely as he stood behind the desk. The young Inuzuka was not book smart by any stretch of the imagination but when it came to reading body language and seeing the emotional undercurrents in a situation he was second to none. Except his mother. And his sister. And–

He was pretty good.

And right now Iruka-sensei's posture was broadcasting unease and Kiba was at loss as to why that was. He'd been fine earlier, if rather aggravated, but now he seemed almost wary. Kiba continued to watch as the older man took role, hoping for some clue about the source of his distress. He found it soon enough. Upon reaching Nami's name he faltered fractionally and tensed even further.

Kiba was confused. Iruka-sensei had seemed perfectly comfortable with his new student less than an hour ago. Unless Nami and Hinata-chan had caused some major damage while they were out getting lunch then he couldn't imagine what had happened to make him so wary of the new girl. Perhaps he'd heard the conversation about blowing up bathhouses.

Kiba sensed a mystery.

This bore watching.

**Lady Hurricane**

Uchiha Sasuke was miffed.

This wasn't an unusual occurrence. Though he'd rather die than admit it he was rather high strung and any deviation from the status quo tended to leave him feeling off balance and aggravated. However, today the feeling was magnified far past its normal proportions.

Not only had the idiots he was unfortunately forced to call his classmates been abnormally aggravating but there was now one more of the imbeciles to deal with.

And she seemed dead set on causing a ruckus.

Sasuke detested ruckuses.

First she had shown up to class with the _Hokage_, then she'd practically put on a play at lunch and now she was _showing him up._

Sasuke detested being shown up.

So far the only thing working in her favor was the fact that she didn't seem to be one of those pitiful excuses for ninjas who insisted on calling themselves his fanclub.

Sasuke detested his fanclub.

After role call Iruka-sensei had taken the class outside to work on their long distance weapons accuracy. They had started with kunai. Because they went in alphabetical order Uzumaki had taken her turn right after him. Unfortunately for his ego it seemed that the class list was the only place he was destined to come in ahead her today. Not only had all of her throws made their way to the absolute center of the targets but they had buried themselves into the wood up to the rings.

He couldn't do that.

He decided that he detested that too.

It had been the same when the class moved on to shuriken. That is, after Iruka-sensei finally managed to yank all of Uzumaki's kunai out of the posts.

They quickly moved on to hand to hand combat. Sasuke sulked his way though the matches not even bothering to watch his classmates perform. They were all useless anyway, there was nothing to be learned from observing them. When it was his turn to fight he was almost disappointed to be facing Iruka-sensei rather than Uzumaki. It had been years since he'd fought one of his year mates, his level of combat was too high for him to get anything out of it. Still, beating her would have been a satisfying way to prove that he was still the best.

Iruka-sensei beat him by a narrow margin. Of course, these spars weren't a truly accurate test of an individual's skill. Because no weapons or justsu were allowed a good portion of his skill set was sealed. If he was allowed to throw out a few fireballs he was almost certain that he'd be able to take down the chuunin.

Sasuke was nothing if not confident.

By the time they'd finished their fight Mizuki-sensei had returned. Sasuke disliked Mizuki more the general idiots he was surrounded by. The man was a toad plain and simple. He sucked up to anyone and everyone occupying a higher position than his own. He had no shame, no self-respect, and no real talent.

And he was about to spar with the new girl. Ostensibly this was so that the two instructors could more accurately judge her level than if they had her fight against another student but Sasuke prided himself on his observational skills and he could see something vicious lurking behind the older man's smiling façade. The moron was most likely about to engage in one of his petty games of one-upmanship though to what purpose was a mystery to everyone but himself.

Sasuke wasn't worried. This was mostly because he honestly didn't care about the girl beyond the fact that she was becoming an annoyance but also because he was confident that Iruka-sensei would intervene if things got out of hand. If it came down to a fight between the two them Mizuki would almost certainly come out the loser.

Uzumaki appeared not to have noticed any of this and placidly took her place in the middle of the sparring area. She really wasn't any better than the rest. He was surprised to find himself mildly disappointed. Aggravating though she seemed, having someone around who might have presented him with a challenge would have been . . . useful, he supposed.

Mizuki joined her with an eagerness that was almost disturbing. Sasuke felt vaguely unsettled. Something about this situation felt wrong, off. Before they could begin there was a call for Iruka-sensei from the direction of the building. Trusting that his fellow instructor could handle the class Umino Iruka left.

Sasuke didn't like that at all.

But it wasn't his problem. He clenched his fists.

"Shall we start then _Mizuki-sensei_?" While on the surface Uzumaki looked still looked utterly unconcerned there was something in her voice, some warning perhaps or a mild threat that let him know that she wasn't unaware of the odd atmosphere. Mizuki didn't appear to catch it as he didn't even answer before launching himself at the girl.

For the first few moments he didn't do anything that looked terribly out of the ordinary. He stuck to the simple forms of Academy taijutsu, though he put enough force behind it that most students would have sustained substantial injuries, and he didn't attempt to use any ninjutsu or weapons. It was clear that whatever he was doing he was trying to be subtle about it.

That didn't last long.

It soon became apparent that excessive force wasn't going to cut it as each of his blows were either dodged or brushed off like they were nothing. Uzumaki, like Mizuki, was using only Academy taijutsu. It was actually . . . rather impressive.

As the fight progressed Mizuki's blows grew wilder, his frustration beginning to get the better of him. Still Uzumaki remained calm. Yet with every punched blocked, every kick dodged Mizuki seemed angrier and angrier. His expression became twisted and unbalanced and it quickly became obvious to Sasuke that this was_ not_ a game, as he had first believed. There were undercurrents here of something far older and far more dangerous:

Hatred.

Sasuke knew hatred, knew it intimately and it was obvious to him that Mizuki _hated_ Uzumaki. It was there in every breath, in every glance, in the very way he stood, as if torn between a desire to strangle her with his bare hands and an abhorrence of the thought of touching her. Each of the chuunin's increasingly vicious attacks screamed his loathing for all the world to hear.

And the world was beginning to take note.

Sasuke could feel his classmates growing restless, the seriousness of the situation finally reaching their pitifully underdeveloped brains. However, before any of them could act the altercation escalated once more.

With a mad, animal yell Mizuki gave up on attempting to make the fight appear innocuous and lunged at his opponent. He whipped out a kunai faster than Sasuke had ever seen him move before and slashed viciously at the girl's face. Uzumaki leaned back just enough for the blade to pass harmlessly in front of her and grabbed his wrist in what appeared to be an iron grip, stopping the older man in his tracks.

"Uh-uh _sensei_," Uzumaki sing-songed. "Weapons are against the rules. You don't want to be known as a cheater do you?" Her face was as pleasant and calm as always but her eyes were very cold and hard. Sasuke got the feeling that Uzumaki didn't like cheaters.

Mizuki shifted his stance, obviously preparing to continue his assault with his unhampered limbs when he cried out and dropped the kunai in his trapped hand. Sasuke watched in shock as the instructor's knees threatened to buckle as Uzumaki increased the pressure of her grip.

"I don't like you," she said. Her voice might have been mistaken for cheerful in a different situation. "You are a talentless, annoying, pathetic excuse for a ninja."

Mizuki sneered. "Better that than a _monster_."

At that every appearance of friendliness left Uzumaki's face. Mizuki seemed to realize he'd hit a sore spot and gleefully continued.

"The only reason you're still alive is that the Sandaime's gone soft. He should have just let the Council dispose of you all those years ago." He appeared prepared to continue but instead cried out as Uzumaki tightened her grip on his wrist even further. Sasuke could hear a soft crackling noise and realized with a shock that it was the sound of Mizuki's bones slowly fracturing under pressure.

"You should watch what you say _sensei_," she warned, the threat now clear in her voice. "You're coming dangerously close to committing treason. Any farther and I'll be obligated to stop you."

"Just try it you little dem–"

Mizuki was abruptly cut off as in one fluid movement Uzumaki yanked his captive arm down and stepped closer to him, bringing her leg up at a seemingly impossible angle. The kick connected solidly with Mizuki's jaw, shattering it with a sickening crack. The arm she held flopped uselessly, obviously ripped from its socket.

Then, using the momentum left over from the kick she swiftly readjusted her grip and lobbed Mizuki directly into one of the abandoned training posts. He connected solidly with a burst of splintering wood, slid bonelessly to the ground, and did not move.

Iruka-sensei, of course, chose that precise moment to return.

Sasuke detested bad timing.

**Lady Hurricane**

Uzumaki Tsunami stared pensively out one of the windows in the Hokage's office. Though she didn't know it, it was the same window her father had been looking out of twelve years ago when he'd made the decision to use her as the Kyuubi vessel. She sighed.

It had been a _very_ long day.

She'd arrived in Konoha that morning just after dawn. Ero-jiji had come with her as far as the gates but had left without entering the city. Her grandmother hadn't come at all.

At least Ji-chan had been happy to see her, though he'd forced her to spend a good three hours filling out forms. Becoming an official resident of a ninja village required a great deal of paper work. That alone should have been a clue as to how the rest of the day was going to go. Unfortunately she hadn't heeded it.

It wasn't like she was expecting to be welcomed with open arms but she'd thought that it would at least take the bastards a little while before they started in on the assassination attempts. The quick response to her presence demonstrated a worrying level of panning.

When Mizuki had started attacking her she'd initially assumed that he was acting on his own, a lone madman out to get revenge for a loved one killed during the attack. However, as the brawl continued and no help came from the ANBU guard Ji-chan had assigned to protect her, a new possibility presented itself.

Mizuki _wasn't_ acting alone.

Everything she and Ji-chan had managed to dig up after the chaos had ended certainly pointed towards that explanation.

Mizuki's absence for a mysterious appointment before she'd even been introduced to her new classmates and instructors was both the greatest concern and the largest clue. Her presence in the Konoha was supposed to be a secret from everyone but the highest-level officials. This treachery went all the way to the top.

It was deep, it was widespread, and it was going to be a serious pain in the ass to root out.

However, worrying though it was, the knowledge that there was at least one highly ranked individual in on the plot allowed all the other information to fall into place.

Iruka-sensei's phone call had been about some paperwork wild goose chase, a simple but effective distraction meant to remove him from her immediate vicinity. Apparently, despite his obvious wariness of her, he wasn't the sort of guy to let his students be attacked by other instructors during sparring exercises.

Meanwhile her ANBU guard had left to deal with an urgent distress call assuming that Iruka-sensei would be able to keep things under control. The call had, of course, turned out to false. There was no record of it having even taken place.

Nami assumed that if the plan_ had_ succeeded all the traces indicating a conspiracy would have vanished, leaving Mizuki to take the fall.

It had been a solid plan, disturbingly so if truth be told. The only flaw had been that whoever was in charge had grievously underestimated her.

Nami smirked and stared out at the city spread below her, bathed in the glow of the setting sun. Let them underestimate her to their hearts' content, it would be to her advantage in the end. Surprise was ninja's greatest weapon, after all.

And Nami was an expert.

**A/N: So here's chapter two. Hope it didn't disappoint. I've never written a fight scene before so please let me know how I did and if there's anything (and I'm sure there is) that could use improvement. The more specific you are the more likely it is that I'll be able to take your suggestions. **

**Still looking for a beta. (hint hint)**

**Review, or Nami will blow up your garden shed and singe off your eyebrows! 8D **


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